Re-organizing for a better workflow…

This is my sewing room.

Yah.  I know.  It’s an unorganized, untidy mess.  And it is affecting not only how I feel about being in the room, but also about how I actually work when I’ve gathered up the gumption to start sewing.

That has GOT to stop.

In the effort to rework this room so that it is more easily kept clean and tidy, I’ve made a few changes.

Firstly, the large white armoire that holds my belly dance costumes?  I moved it to our bedroom (which desperately needs doing!).  This cleared up a lot visual space and actually made more room for future storage pieces.

Next, I moved all of my fabric to plastic tubs and piles in the hallway.

That freed up the shelves so I could remove them.   Of course, this meant I had brand new holes in the walls that have to fill and touch up.  No photos of this, since I know you’ve all seen patched walls!)

I moved my corner desk to the opposite side of the room.  Instead of pushing the “L” into the corner, I moved it so one of the legs jutted out into the room.  The space under the window is perfect for my ironing board.  From my new desk position, I face the doorway instead of a wall – so the room feels more spacious, even though it isn’t!

I took the time to paint a very old bulletin board and even older bookcase.  My grandfather made this bookcase for me about 35 years ago.  It started out as white, then was a light pink, then a beige….  But this is my room and I wanted a pop of color.  I think he’d be pleased!

Opposite to the bookcase is my shelf system.  The shelves are covered in a snakeskin vinyl print that’s easy to wipe down, and smooth enough that even the most delicate fabric won’t catch.  I installed these by mounting the brackets on two slender lengths of board.  This way, there are only 4 screws per unit in the wall instead of 12 per side!  The board backing also helps distribute the weight of the fabric over a larger surface, which helps with my brittle walls.

The shelves are above my cutting table.  To the left of the cutting table are two rather pink plastic storage units.  These units were holding the majority of my patterns (many which are pdf files), but I’m going to be using them for only the patterns that I have tried and like.  The untried patterns are now sitting on top of the cutting table, waiting patiently!

In the corner, I’ve got two wall mounted mirrors flanking a mirrored door.  This is a perfect place to store Edith as well as get a view of myself from more than one angle.  Helpful when fitting a pattern!

Right below the window, I have my ironing board.  It’s convenient here, since it’s a case of “sew a seam, press a seam”.

Getting the bones of the room this far actually took most of the weekend.  On Monday night, I decided to move the desk about 2 feet…  and broke it (don’t ask…  there was bruising and swearing, as well as a bit of blood involved.)

I spent Monday evening trying to put it back together again, but the connector units were absolutely useless by this point.  On Tuesday I picked up some corner brackets, some metal plate connectors and some longer screws.  It took several hours on Tuesday, but I managed to put it together again.  The Ogre had to help me with putting the hutch on top of the desk, but I managed to do the rest on my own.

Even with all of this, the hardest part hadn’t even started!  It’s difficult for me to just fold and sort my fabric, when all I really want to do is fondle it!  However, I was disciplined – tough, even!  I only succumbed to tempation a time or two!

That’s the story of the improved sewing studio.  Clean and neat and with a better workflow and storage.

Now I have to try to keep it that way!

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.\

Thrift Store Find – With Ombre!

Last week, I went hunting for a basket for the guest room.  I wanted something that could be carried, so I could fill it with toiletries and our guests could carry it to the bath and back without having to juggle things.

I found this for $2.99.  A little worse for the wear, but the perfect shape and size!

A few coats of Stone White later…

It was OK, but I wasn’t loving it.

Then I remembered all of the ombre paint I had mixed up for the Keep Calm sign!

Darkest color.

Second color…

Third color…

Finished!

Closeup of the ombre…

Now, I’m loving it!  I think it needs something on the handle.  And, of course, toiletries!  But it will do what I wanted it to, and it’s kind of cute!

 

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Indespensable Colors…

Years ago, I watched Lynette Jennings with religious fervour.  She retired from the home decor scene in 2002, and now concentrates on painting beautiful pieces on canvas.

I remember her stating that a room wasn’t complete without a touch of black.  Black grounds the room and adds an element of sophistication, no matter how casual the space.

I agreed with her.  Vehemently, in fact!  However, as I’ve aged and become more comfortable with my own tastes, I’ve come to a realization.

Lynette was only half right.  (gasp!)

In my home, a room is not complete without a touch of black AND a bit of red.  Somehow, that hit of red, no matter how small, just makes a room pop for me.  It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling, and tells me that the room is complete.

Here.  This is what I mean…

Red candlesticks with black upper, black pots for faux topiary, red matting in frame and art above photo.

Red in hummingbird on black lamp base.

Keeping that in mind, I HAVE to have something red in the guest room.  The “Keep Calm” piece fits the bill nicely!

There will be other touches, of course, but this is the big one.

But I’m stumped at what to bring in for the black.  Hmmmm…..

Any ideas?  What are your indespensable colors?  The colors that finish your rooms?  Have a look around.  I’m sure you’ll see a pattern there!

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Keep Calm and…

Well, almost anything, really.  There are posters and other art pieces out there that replace the traditional “Carry On”  with everything from “Princess On” to “Rock On”.  And they’ve been very, very trendy over the last few years.  So much so, that they’re getting a bit stale to a lot of decorators.

That being said, I like the “Keep Calm” sentiment.  My daughter had the original sentiment in her hallway for quite some time and it always made me smile.  It’s a sentiment I believe in.  So, trendy or not, I had to do something with it in our home.

A somewhat newer, but old in its roots, trend is ombre – the shading of color from light to dark.  I enjoy that as well.

I chose to create a piece for our guest room that actually combines both the “old” trend and the new.

I chose the phrase “Keep Calm and Sleep In”.  It is for our guest room, after all – and encouraging sloth in your guests is one of the first rules of a hostess!

I don’t have a Silhouette, so I chose to do this in stencil form using alternative methods.   First, I printed out the phrase and crown on 8 X 11.5″ paper, then enlarged it to the size I wanted.  I’m doing a 20″ X 30″ piece, and letters that were 3.25″ were just about right.

I found the center of each line and marked it.  That way, the entire saying will be centered side to side.  It also gave me an easy to match up line to tape my papers together.

With this accomplished, and the piece checked against the base (foam core covered with velvet and painted red), it was time to start turning my paper into a stencil.  (I’ll post more about creating a reusable painter’s tape stencil at another time.)

I centered the stencil to the base and made sure that all of the edges were firmly in place.

With this done, it was time to work on the colors.

I’m not good eyeballing color – the Ogre has a MUCH better eye than I do.  But I do know math and I’m not afraid to use it!

To mix my colors, I broke it down into a 20% change for each line.  The top (crown) was 100% Stone White from Benjamin Moore.  Each of the following lines used 20% less white until I the bottom line – which was Turquoise Powder from Benjamin Moore, straight out of the can.

Since I didn’t need a lot of paint in each color (even with multiple layers), I used a tablespoon as a base measure.   Line one was solid white.  Line two used 4 parts white to 1 part blue.  Line three used 3 parts white to 2 blue.  Line four used 2 parts white to 3 parts blue.  Line five used 1 part white to 4 parts blue and line six was solid blue.

The percentage of gradient is based on the number of colors wanted MINUS one.  I had 6 lines.  6 minus 1 equals 5.  100% divided by 5 equals 20.  If you needed five colors, the gradient would be 25% or 4 parts in total.  (5-1=4 .. 100/4 = 25).  For 7 colors, you’d get a fraction of 16.6%.

If you are planning this and need the math done, just email me.  I’d be happy to do a breakdown for you!

With my gradients and mixing plan established, I mixed the colors in larger quantities than I needed for this project.  Instead of using jars, I decided to put the paint in Ziploc bags.  This way, the paint will stay fresh for any other projects I do for this room!

I labeled my bags 1-4, with 1 having the largest amount of white and 4 having the least.  If I had to step away from the project, I wouldn’t have to do any guess work – I could just pick out the right bag and paint away!

When I had the ombre treatment complete, I pulled the stencil off and filled in where needed.

I didn’t burnish the tape down enough in a spot or two.  But a few minutes later, I had a completed base!

Before I added the finishing touches, I turned the piece over to make a hanger.  Because this piece is very lightweight, I just used a scrap piece of plastic that I had laying around and Gorilla Glued it to the back.  Then, I layered a strip of fabric over the lower portion of the plastic to further strengthen it.

When the glue dried, I covered the back with two pieces of kraft paper, butting them together where I bent the plastic to jut out slightly.

Time for the final embellishments!  What’s a crown without jewels?  I have a selection of hot fix crystals that I use in my belly dance costuming.  I have no idea where my heat set tool is currently hiding, since I haven’t actually unpacked my studio fully, so I cheated and used my hot glue gun!

Ready to be hung in the guest room and encourage the sloth that guests really are welcome to experience!

And there you have it.  An “old” trend married with a new trend.  If I only could have figured out how to throw chevrons in there, too!

I’m sharing here

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.

Ta-Dah!!! First floor hallway reveal…

Remember what it looked like before?  Yeah.  Not so great.  (If you don’t remember, go here for a bit of perspective, OK?)

Well, I filled holes.  I sanded walls.  I primed – twice (and 3 times in some spots).  I painted – thrice!  I installed wall anchors, mounted a shelf, hung art and staged a display.  I even took a vacation day from work to get it all finished.

The Ogre thinks it looks amazing.  To be honest, so do I.  The only thing not changed is the silly brown runner on the floor – but it’s on the list.

Enough words. Let’s look at some pictures!

Welcome to my home.  When you first open the front door, please look to the left.  Here is my mudroom closet.  Have a seat on the comfy bench and kick off your shoes.  No, don’t worry about putting them away, there’s room here for them to just be.

If you have a look up, while you’re removing your shoes, this is what you’ll see.

That white railing looks so much better than the black with gold, doesn’t it?  Much brighter and warmer, I think.

Here’s a better shot of the poppy artwork on the wall.  The colors in it were perfect for this spot, and it’s such a welcoming sight when I open the front door in the evening.

The plate you see in profile came from the Ogre’s Poppa Norm’s house.  I never met Norm, but the two plates we got to take do remind the Ogre of being a little guy in a country kitchen watching his Poppa cook.  (Norm was a phenom in the kitchen.)  Here’s a front view…

One of these beauties hangs above the full length mirror mounted beside the closet, while the other lives above the doorway to the kitchen.  They’re on opposite walls and bring the colors of the room down the hall.

Looking up, you’ll see the standard builder’s globe light in the hall.  I didn’t want to spend the $$$ to change it out, so I made a paper towel/toilet paper roll medallion to bling it up a bit.  This is what it looks like with the light on.  Much more finished and interesting, I think.

Moving down the hall slightly, you’ll see the shelf I made from pine boards reclaimed from a futon frame.

To help light bounce down the hall, I glued Dollarama square mirror tiles to the base of the shelf.  It’s just a little touch of bling, but it’s fun!

The accessories on the shelf are mostly DIY.  The “T” was made after seeing Allison from House of Hepworth’s cardboard monogram.  The burgundy/red with black candleholders are repainted wedding gifts (from 24+ years ago!) and the topiaries are Dollarama rope globes, dowels and terra cotta pots.  (The 3M mounting tape didn’t stay there after I took the picture!)

Because my cat has a nasty habit of eating plants, I repurposed these candle wall sconces by painting them and using them to hold 2″ pots.  The hallway gets diffused light during the day, so I’m hoping these little guys will survive for a while.

I made the little bead tree before we moved here.  It was a first attempt, and the crystal beads are supposed to represent winter.  I’m hoping to do seasonal sets, but I haven’t gotten there yet.

Normally, I prefer an asymmetrical display, but it didn’t work out for this shelf.  So, symmetry it is!

The Cuba print is from an old calendar, but the image was originally a Pan-Am advertisement.  I really love the colors and flow.  The piece hanging above it is, again, paper towel art.

And this is what I see when I come up the stairs from our basement living room/office/crafting space area.

None of the above photos are really true to the colors, so I’ll throw in this one.  THIS is what you see if you stand in our horrid, messy, completely disorganized and utterly depressing living room.

The Ogre is right.  It IS kinda awesome.  And I’m very happy with it.

Next up, the living room!

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Edited to add image with truer color…

Truer color

It’s a happy place to walk through.  My first ever yellow room!

This room also reflects the impact that three of my friends have had on me.  The plants remind me of Roxane, the poster of Laura, and the colors of Vera.  It’s almost like my besties welcome me home!

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I’d really love to see your comments on the projects I do and the ideas I have.  I learn more from critiques than praise, but, honestly, I adore praise (and who doesn’t?).

Thanks for stopping by.